Posted: July 8, 2009 |(0) Comments

Bayside — The village's efforts to undertake several "green" initiatives to enhance energy efficiency, promote environmental stewardship, and provide leadership in enhancing environmental friendliness has earned an honor.

The Milwaukee Business Journal selected Bayside as its first-ever Green Community of the Year by focusing on building, village operation and procedures, infrastructure, community, regulation and communication. The specific initiatives include:

• establishing a performance benchmark of reducing total village building and facility energy consumption by 10 percent;

• increasing recycling collections by 100 tons between April and October 2008 with single stream recycling;

• diverting 520 tons of yard waste from the landfill by storing and grounding yard waste to create a high quality mulch material;

• implementing several performance measurement changes which reduced the amount of time spent collecting materials and vehicle emissions;

• revising snow and ice procedures to reduce salt application by 25 percent;

• being designated as a first-time Tree City USA;

• holding first spring clean up days;

• forming Greenscape Bayside Committee "to educate and encourage a sustainable relationship with the environment while promoting an aesthetically pleasing community";

• being featured by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District as a model program as the village purchases rain barrels, then sells and delivers them to residents and has installed rain barrels at village facilities;

• establishing a tree planting program and tree farm for future tree planting;

• enhancing environmental corridor collection site; and

• distributing Bayside Buzz via e-mail weekly as a way to keep the community up-to-date in lieu of printing publications.

The village received its designation during an awards breakfast by the Milwaukee Business Journal at the Pfister Hotel on June 19.